There will be no replacement for the “People’s Army” IDF conscription model, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi said Thursday in response to outrage over a new conscription model outline that was reported to be in the works earlier this week.
His comments on the conscription model were made as part of a longer speech he delivered in Latrun at the opening event of a new project known as “Walking the Paths of the IDF,” in which thousands of soldiers will take part in a march following significant routes in the IDF’s history.
“Today we are walking in the path of the IDF – a path that intertwines the landscapes of our country with the legacy of our battles,” Halevi said. “From the Galilee and the Golan, Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley, throughout the coastal plain and down through the Negev Desert and the Arava, each point on the map tells a different story and reminds us how the IDF has fought for our right to exist here.”
"For 75 years, the People's Army model has proven beyond any doubt that there is not and there must not be any substitute. It is the secret of the IDF's strength, the secret of the nation's strength."
Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi
“The 75 years of defense contain stories of battles from the War of Independence through all of Israel’s wars up until the present day,” he said. “The hills and paths that we walk today were the scenes of battles, the scene of combat values at their best, places of great achievements, places of failure in battle and places where we lost the best of our people.
“We carry their memories with us always, and on Remembrance Day next week, we carry them with us more than any other day.”
The strength of a nation
“We are marching today along the paths of the country to emphasize our strong connection to the country and its landscape and to remember that at the heart of the IDF’s actions, forever and above all else, is love for the homeland and its people,” Halevi said.
“We will also know how to stop, respect and learn the fighting legacy that our predecessors left behind,” he said, referring to the controversial conscription law outline that, if implemented, would grant an exemption from service to haredi citizens at a lower age than others.
“We will remember that the same spirit and willingness that led long generations before us into the battles for Israel’s existence is the spirit that continues to guide us, even today,” Halevi said. “Today, we are marching together as one – conscripts, salaried soldiers, reserve soldiers from across the entire spectrum of roles in the army, with different views on the country and different opinions and beliefs – to emphasize that together, our strength is greater.
“For 75 years, the People’s Army model has proven beyond any doubt that there is not and there must not be any substitute. It is the secret of the IDF’s strength; the secret of the nation’s strength.”
Concluding his speech, Halevi told the soldiers: “We will put on our uniforms and leave all disputes outside so that the citizens of Israel and its youth will know that we have one common denominator – the security of the state. For this, we will all stand up, defend the country and risk our lives, standing shoulder to shoulder together. There is one IDF path and one IDF, and together we will walk on it.”